What we're playing--And we swear we'll never do that again

by: Randy - posted: 1/2/2009 6:00:00 PM

As gamers we all fell for some regrettable scenario at some point in 2008.  Perhaps we rooted too long for a failing developer, or we bought into the hype of yet another big-budget blockbuster, or we dismissed a worthy start-up company, or we sacrificed too many puppies on the sanguinary stone altars of Baal.  We all have our faults.  And despite your efforts to deify us here at GamingNexus, we're not perfect.  So (should old acquaintance be forgot) we ask you, What will you never do/screw up again in 2009?

Ben Berry:  I was lucky in 2008. But one thing I will do differently in 2009 is be smarter about the titles I put at the top of my list so I'm not the last one on the bus (i.e., BioShock).  (Now playing:  WiiPlay, WiiFit, WiiMusic, History Channel Civil War: Secret Missions, NPPL Championship Paintball 2009)

Elliot Bonnie:  For some reason I always end up buying the newest edition of Madden football from EA...not this year, folks. Actually, if they put Mutant League Football on the disc I will buy it for sure.  (Now playing:  Left 4 Dead, FIFA Soccer 09, Midnight Club: Los Angeles)

Sean Colleli:  I think I've finally learned to never trust Nintendo ever again.  Big holiday plans for the core gamer?  Kid Icarus?  New Zelda?  Yeah right.  I've been telling myself "next year will be better" and "wait for E3" for what seems like four years now.  They have me tempted with WiiMotionPlus and a few other tasty 2009 promises, but the thing to always remember is Nintendo's policy of wasted potential.  See that Wii over there, the one you dropped $250 on?  Potential, being wasted in action.  (Now playing:  Mushroom Men: Spore Wars, Mushroom Men: Rise of the Fungi)

Charles Husemann:  I'm going to try to pay more attention to the indie scene in 2008.  I completely missed World of Goo and didn't really spend enough time with Braid or PixelJunk Eden.  (Now playing:  Killzone 2, PixelJunk Eden)

Randy Kalista:  Fully aware that I'm plagiarizing Chuck's answer above, I too will be showing smaller developers some more love this year.  Sure, it's grand to be able to refer to past big-budget titles that serve as touchstones for the gaming community at large, but I'm officially suffering from triple-A fatigue.  Showing the little guys some love, however, doesn't mean that I'm going to masochistically pursue things that suck, per se.  But instead of Champions Online, I'll go Fallen Earth.  Instead of Guitar Hero: Metallica, it'll be Scratch.  Instead of Empire: Total War, it's me and King Arthur.  And instead of Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, I'll get BioShock 2.  Hey, some exceptions to the rule will apply.  We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  (Now playing:  Europa Universalis III - Complete, Braid)

Cyril Lachel:  I will never get up at 5 am to go to a Nintendo Press Conference again.  I know it sounds like whining, after 2008 I'm done going out of my way for Nintendo, especially when the outcome is so offensive.  As much as I love E3, the truth is that it's extremely difficult to get around Los Angeles.  It's true, L.A. is the worst city for driving, the highways are a mess and the street layout is completely random.  So I already wasn't looking forward to driving across town to attend Nintendo's 2008 press conference (held at the beautiful Kodak Theater).  To make things even worse, Nintendo decided to start their conference at 7 in the morning.  That's right, 7 AM!  That means that I had to get up at 5 am just to make it to the Kodak Theater on time.  And to add insult to injury, Nintendo didn't announce a single thing we didn't know about.  It was a completely lifeless press conference, the worst I've ever seen.  I was tired, I was bitter and I was watching the least informative press conference the world has ever seen.  And at that moment I realized that Nintendo didn't care what I thought.  They aren't making the Wii for me.  I'm no longer even in Nintendo's radar.  When Animal Crossing is your "hardcore" offering, then you know something is wrong.  At that moment I decided that this would be the last time I go out of my way to watch Nintendo (once again) disappoint me.  Next time I'll have Nintendo disappoint me from the comfort of my hotel room!  (Now playing:  Fable II, Rock Band 2, Chrono Trigger, The Last Remnant)

Matt Mirkovich:  What I'm not doing again? Trusting that Nintendo knows what the core gamers want. I've had it with them telling me what I want. This is worse than Sony's whole anti-2-D kick they went on a few years ago when the PS2 came around. And after last year's E3, I knew that Nintendo had lost me, and that I'd have to rely on 3rd party titles to make me happy. Love you ~ No More Heroes.  (Now playing:  Prince of Persia, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, DJ Max Portable - Black Square)

Nathan Murray:  Something I'll never do again? How about buy a game simply because of the price. I purchased Gears of War at Wal-Mart for the deal of $29 thinking at the time it was a copy of Gears of War 2. I realized my mistake after I got home and I vowed to never again buy a game without reading the front and back cover first and not go shopping after only having 6 hours of sleep.  (Now playing:  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Quantum of Solace, Ninja Gaiden 2)

Sean Nack:  What will I not do again? Underestimate the online experience. I've avoided it for years because, honestly, most people annoy me, and all the immaturity, idiocy, poor sportsmanship, homophobia, and even crazy-racism that I always expected to encounter are consistently in evidence, threatening to overshadow my good times. But the vindictive joy I get from hunting the most annoying people down, over and over? That about makes up for it.  (Now playing:  Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Braid)

Shawn Sines:  What will I not do again? Believe in game makers to understand that new IPs while expensive and risky are worth the effort...look at EA already acting like Dead Space, Mirror's Edge are a mistake and Blizzard/Activision killing Brutal Legend (EA don't quit on us and we won't quit you!) and Ghostbusters (Thanks be to...and I can't believe I'm about to say this...Atari). We all know we need another 7 sequels to sports titles with marginal updates and roster revisions.  (Now playing:  Champions of Norrath: Return to Arms, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Left 4 Dead, and an exclusive shooter I can't name)

John Yan: I'll never try and play more than five titles at once again. When that crazy schedule of games came out at the end of the year I tried cramming everything at once in getting the experience. It was more stressful than fun so I'll take my time and let some titles linger on a bit for those slow times that usually come afterwards. Oh and I vow never to buy another console from Nintendo again without at least 3 games I want to play and even then they have to be some pretty damn good games that will last more than a week. I'm tired of my Wii collecting dust along with the Wii Fit and a few other things I picked up for it. Nintendo you may have the casual group in your hand but I'm not falling for it again and falling for your empty promises. (Now playing: Left 4 Dead, Gears of War 2, Team Fortress 2)

Ouch.  Looks like Nintendo screwed themselves up last year.  And zombies still seem to be stealing the spotlight as several of our writers are finding themselves gratefully Left 4 Dead.